The Mighty Peacock Mantis Shrimp

First, the peacock shrimp isn’t really a shrimp, but it’s named that because it looks like one and it’s only a few inches long. However, scientists found out that despite being that tiny, it is an incredibly strong and powerful fighter.

Sort of like a boxer, this creature can punch at it’s prey or to defend itself over and over again, with little worry that it will crack or break. Scientists studied the claws under a microscope and found the claws have a unique structure that makes it so strong. In fact, they want to learn more about it so they can possibly use the same design to help improve body armor and other materials.

Besides being tough, this mantis shrimp is also super powerful for it’s size. When it strikes, the claw delivers 200 lbs of force onto whatever it is hitting or trying to crush. 200 pounds! Remember, it’s only 4 inches long! The strike also creates movement and bubbles in the water that creates at least a hundred pounds of pressure which could further damage anything that wasn’t hit directly.

Talk about small and mighty! Here is a link to the mantis shrimp story so you can see a picture of this special creature.

Creation Inspiration

Sometimes, being small, has nothing to do with how strong an animal, or even a person, can be. If you ever feel like you’re too small, or too weak to do something, or to go through a tough time remember, as Christians, our strength comes from our mighty God. And He has promised to give us that strength to overcome the things that life can throw us sometimes.

The next time you see a tiny, yet powerful creature, remember, nothing is too little for our God to make strong.

Ephesians 6:13a (NIV) Therefore put on the full armorofGod, so that when the day of comes, you may be able to stand your ground.

Photo via Flickr.com by Pugno M

]]>http://cherylpickett.com/tiny-crustacean-has-super-strength/feed/0No Place Too Deephttp://cherylpickett.com/no-place-too-deep/
http://cherylpickett.com/no-place-too-deep/#commentsMon, 05 Mar 2012 00:27:33 +0000http://creationinspirations.com/?p=400Here on the surface of our great planet, when we think about creatures who live “underground” the first ones that come to mind are worms and moles.

We think of these because if we dig in the ground, those are the ones we’re likely to find. But did you know that there are animals who live much, much deeper? In fact, in 2010 scientists discovered an animal in the deepest cave on earth (that we know of so far). No one had ever seen it before.

Photo by GOC53 via Flickr

It is a tiny insect called Plutomurus ortobalaganensis . It’s more common name is springtail. The cave is located in Russia near the Black Sea and this unique creature lives at a depth of 7,188 feet. That’s about a mile and a half down!

Life is not easy for these special creatures. At that depth there is no light, only fungi and decomposing matter for food, and it’s a chilly 30 – 40 degrees (F) year round. That makes it a very dangerous and difficult place for humans to work, but these teeny creatures seem to be surviving just fine.

And you know what? Even a mile and a half below the earth God is still in control. Those insects are still part of His creation. While scientists may not know much about them, God does, just like He knows about everything from elephants to eagles and water bugs to whales. There is no place on earth where God does not see or does not know.

So the next time you hear about cave creatures, or if you try spelunking (that’s what cave exploring is called) remember that there is no place too deep. God is there and He loves and cares for creatures everywhere, especially you!

Jeremiah 23:24Who can hide in secret places so that I cannot see them?” declares the LORD. “Do not I fill heaven and earth?” declares the LORD

]]>http://cherylpickett.com/no-place-too-deep/feed/0Ring Around the Lemurhttp://cherylpickett.com/ring-around-the-lemur/
http://cherylpickett.com/ring-around-the-lemur/#commentsSat, 12 Nov 2011 00:25:41 +0000http://creationinspirations.com/?p=395Some animals have stripes or spots that help us identify them. Your cat or dog at home may even have one of these patterns. But at least one creature, has something a little different-rings!

The ring-tailed lemur is just one of many species of lemurs that live on the planet. Like their name says, the rings they have are on their tails. They are stacked in black and white and easy to spot.

Photo via Flickr by Ella's Dad

In the wild, most species of lemurs, including the ring-tailed, live on the island of Madagascar. It’s a very tiny place compared to most other countries, and unfortunately, lemur habitat is getting smaller and smaller every day.

The forests they need to live are being destroyed so that farms and crops can be put there instead. Hopefully, people will figure out a way to compromise soon so that lemurs continue to have a place to live, too.

A New View

If you’ve ever gone for a hike in the woods with a group of friends, you probably chose someone to be the leader. That person walked ahead and either made a path through, or found a way to get where you wanted to go. The rest of you would have tried to keep your eyes on that person, so that you knew which way to walk.

Ring-tailed lemurs do this too. Whenever they walk together as a group, there’s always a leader. It holds its tail high in the air like a flag. The others keep that tail in sight so they don’t get lost and so they know which way to go.

In the Bible, we can read about another group that did a lot of walking and a lot of following. The Israelites walked for many years until they finally reached the Promised Land. During part of that time, they had the unique experience of being able to see and follow God himself! He appeared in a cloud and as fire in the sky moving ahead of them to lead the way. Imagine what that would have been like. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could do that today?

The next time you see a ring-tailed lemur:

Look at that fluffy ringed tail. Maybe you’ll be lucky enough to see them lead each other around. Remember the special way that God lead the Israelites and how confident they could be in His faithfulness to guide them in the ways they needed to go.

The ring-tailed lemur is just one of the animals featured in Creation Inspirations: A New View of the World Around You. If you don’t have your copy yet, consider picking one up on your favorite bookseller site, or if you order directly from this site, you can receive an autographed copy.

]]>http://cherylpickett.com/ring-around-the-lemur/feed/0Did You Know?http://cherylpickett.com/did-you-know/
http://cherylpickett.com/did-you-know/#commentsThu, 25 Aug 2011 17:33:35 +0000http://creationinspirations.com/?p=383Did you know that we understand less about the oceans of the world than we do about the moon? The oceans are so vast and so deep in many places and so full of creatures that new discoveries are made all the time.

(Leafy Seahorse Photo by Ed Bierman)

As technology improves, submarines are diving deeper and cameras are getting more detailed video exposing creatures and habits we’ve never seen until now. From tiny crustaceans to great white sharks, we can see the never ending care and creativity of our Creator God. And it’s a lot of fun to see all those cool things too!

People might get that idea because bats seem to fly in haphazard patterns, darting and dashing across the sky, especially when they’re chasing down bugs for a meal. However, science is learning that isn’t the case at all.

Recently, scientists have figured out that many bat species make adjustments in flight quickly and precisely because of the tiny hairs on their wings. They’ve discovered that this hair and attached nerves send signals that help the bat understand how the air around them is effecting their flight. This is similar to some of the gauges that pilots have on planes.

Think about that for a minute. It is no simple task to design an airplane so that it stays in the sky and flies safely, yet a bat does this naturally and precisely unless it’s hair becomes damaged. Do you think it was just by luck that the hairs lined up just perfectly and that the nerves connected to the brain in the right way? Of course not, Creator God knew what would help bats fly and gave it to them. God cared about what He made down to the finest detail. And He still does to this day.

The next time you see a bat: Remember how important the tiny hairs are on its wings, and how our loving God cares about such small details in all of His creation- including us!

How many are your works, Lord! In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures. Psalm 104:24 (NIV)

]]>http://cherylpickett.com/bats-arent-batty/feed/0A Little Green Inspirationhttp://cherylpickett.com/a-little-green-inspiration/
http://cherylpickett.com/a-little-green-inspiration/#commentsThu, 21 Apr 2011 16:04:41 +0000http://creationinspirations.com/?p=372In addition to being Good Friday, April 22nd is also Earth Day. This is a great thing as the recognition of Earth Day has done a lot to help environmental causes over the years.

As you go about your day, I hope you’ll take a couple of minutes to consider how amazing our Earth truly is. From the vastness of the sky or mountains, to the shimmering wings of a tiny butterfly, everything declares the glory of our Creator God. A God who loved us enough despite our sin, to send His son to suffer and die in our place, giving us the promise of eternal life in a place even more spectacular than here.

It is a Good Friday indeed.

]]>http://cherylpickett.com/a-little-green-inspiration/feed/0What Can You Learn About Marriage from a Zebra?http://cherylpickett.com/what-can-you-learn-about-marriage-from-a-zebra/
http://cherylpickett.com/what-can-you-learn-about-marriage-from-a-zebra/#commentsThu, 07 Apr 2011 20:40:52 +0000http://creationinspirations.com/?p=367Sometimes when we think about animal families, we think they are very different from our human families. Sometimes that’s true, but not always. Zebras are a great example of that. In fact, they’re pretty good role models for what marriage should be like for us. They don’t get married of course, but see if you can think of the Bible verses they model very well as you read a few fun facts.

]]>http://cherylpickett.com/what-can-you-learn-about-marriage-from-a-zebra/feed/08 Legs and Amazinghttp://cherylpickett.com/8-legs-and-amazing/
http://cherylpickett.com/8-legs-and-amazing/#commentsThu, 03 Feb 2011 16:58:41 +0000http://creationinspirations.com/?p=365There are many people who are either not a fan of spiders or who are quite afraid of them. While a spider arriving unannounced as they often do can be momentarily unnerving, they are still incredibly miraculously made creatures and powerful examples of the genius of our Creator God.

This post by Dr Dino today offers lots of amazing and fascinating facts that will hopefully inspire at least a little love for those little 8 legged guys.

Be Inspired!

Cheryl Pickett

]]>http://cherylpickett.com/8-legs-and-amazing/feed/0BOPs on TVhttp://cherylpickett.com/bops-on-tv/
http://cherylpickett.com/bops-on-tv/#commentsThu, 20 Jan 2011 15:55:25 +0000http://creationinspirations.com/?p=361BOPs?? You’re probably wondering. BOPs is the term I use in my book for Birds of Paradise-figured it was more reader friendly than writing the long way for a whole chapter.

Anyway, just a quick note to let you know that the PBS show Nature episode this Sunday Jan 23rd is all about these beautiful and intriguing creatures. If they show even a few varieties, you’ll be amazed.

If you have the book, I suggest you re-read the chapter with your family before or after. Don’t have a copy of the book? Unless you’re in the immediate area, I probably can’t fix that before Sunday-but if you are contact me ASAP and I’ll see what I can do

The Creation Inspiration with BOPs? Hint-one is in its name. There are probably others. If you watch the show and come up with one please pop over here & share!

Be Inspired!

Cheryl Pickett

]]>http://cherylpickett.com/bops-on-tv/feed/0New Year New Timehttp://cherylpickett.com/new-year-new-time/
http://cherylpickett.com/new-year-new-time/#commentsTue, 28 Dec 2010 21:14:21 +0000http://creationinspirations.com/?p=359Have you ever stopped to think about that fact that time was created just like everything else in the universe? In Genesis it says God set the sun and moon to divide day and night-He created time. Humans have added the clock and calendar elements of measure, but God’s designed and set it into motion.

In a few days, we will welcome in 2011. For many, the New Year is viewed as the time to start fresh, set goals and put dreams into motion. For Christians, it can also be a reminder that we are made new through the Christ of Christmas and a new year offers new opportunities to serve our loving & creator God.